Here's how much debt the US government added under President Obama

As part
of the broader economic legacy of President Barack Obama,
from jobs to the stock market, one of the most notable
changes has been the increase in the national debt.

Based on quarterly data released by the US Treasury, the debt at
the end of 2008 - just before Obama took office - stood at
roughly $10,699,805,000,000.

As of the third quarter of 2016, the most recent data available,
the debt as Obama is set to leave office stood at
$19,573,445,000,000.

Based on the website USdebtclock.com, which
extrapolates the US national debt in real time based on committed
government spending, the debt will be roughly $19.97 trillion
when President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Friday.

Thus, the national debt under Obama will have grown by about $9
trillion, or an increase of 86%.

Some of this debt is attributable to bills passed by Obama's
predecessor, George W. Bush, since the federal government's
fiscal year budget operate differently from the calendar year.
Also, both Bush and Obama rolled out large investment bills to
help the US recover from the depths of the financial crisis.

A majority of economists agree that debt-financed government
spending during the depths of a recession is a good way to help
mitigate the impact of the crisis and help return the country to
economic growth. In addition, the
debt may not be a scary as some think, since the US is still
in good credit standing and prints the reserve currency of the
world.

Additionally, as the Obama administration often notes, the annual
deficit has decreased each year of the Obama presidency.

With those facts in mind, the size of the debt increase is quite
staggering.